Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) completed his purchase of a stake in Sharp Display Products Corp, paving the way for the two groups to cooperate on the production of panels used in televisions and cellphones.
SIO International Holdings Ltd, wholly owned by Gou, paid ￥49 billion (US$617 million) to buy 979,200 shares of Sharp Display from Sharp Corp, Osaka-based Sharp said in a statement yesterday.
The transaction follows a ￥17 billion payment Gou made last month as the first stage in his acquisition of a 37.6 percent stake in the display business.
Gou, founder of Foxconn and chairman of its flagship Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which manufactures Apple Inc’s iPad, is investing his own money in the display business to share the risk after Hon Hai agreed to buy a stake directly in Sharp. The display unit will be renamed Sakai Display Products Corp and operate an advanced 10th-generation liquid crystal display factory in Osaka prefecture.
Hon Hai said on June 23 it would book a loss of NT$4.27 billion (US$142 million), while Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準), a smaller affiliate that makes metal computer casings, would mark down about NT$2.1 billion, from their purchase of new stock in Sharp.
The write-downs followed a drop in the stock of the Japanese electronics maker from the ￥550 a share price they agreed on for the deal.
Hon Hai and Foxconn Technology Co will have a combined 9.9 percent stake in Sharp after the companies complete the transaction this month.
Sharp will own 37.6 percent of Sakai Display, while Toppan Printing Co and Dai Nippon Printing Co will own 9.54 percent each after merging their operations with the display maker, according to a May 24 statement. About 5.7 percent of shares will be held as treasury stock.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
RSS